The ACLU of Texas and Richard Linklater’s PSA against SB6. More info at StopSB6.org

Testifying against the Texas anti-trans bathroom bill

Editor’s note: SB6 is the so-called “bathroom bill” pushed by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and co-sponsored by state senator Charles Schwertner, whose district includes Williamson County. SB6 discriminates against transgender people not only by prohibiting them from using public restrooms that match their gender, but also by barring cities from passing ordinances to protect LGBTQ rights.

Nicole Crean, a Wilco Indivisible member, spent 19 hours at the Texas Capitol on March 7-8 in order to testify to a state senate committee about SB6. Here, she shares her diary of the day with us.

You can pee next to me! Or, everything you wanted to know about the SB6 hearings but were afraid to ask.

At 6:30 am, the Capitol is almost zen like in its tranquility. Agonizingly slowly, the sun rises over the horizon and the rhythmic slap of joggers’ sneakers on the pavement is replaced by the more purposeful stride of heels and dress shoes.

At 7am, our large crowd is allowed to enter through single metal detectors at each entrance. There are well over 400 of us (many clad in purple) and we are additionally joined on this day by pastors and NASA scientists in the capitol for their own advocacy days.

At 7:50 am, I breathe a sigh of relief because I was able to get through the queue and sign in prior to the 8am deadline to provide up to 2 minutes of public testimony. We are separated into groups of 15, reminded not to lose our group numbers, and told the hearing will start at 8:30

At 8am, another volunteer bearing a box of Krispy Cremes becomes my new best friend.

At 8:15am, I meet Ciara. I hear her story, one she tells openly of being abused throughout childhood and of being rejected by her family. She mentions that she is finally glad as a woman that she still can’t put on weight. With donut in hand I joke with her about being jealous of her gorgeous figure,(her figure is gorgeous, but I’m not really THAT jealous) but really I am moved by her truth. You see, I don’t know a lot of transgender people, and I don’t really understand “this whole thing”, but I know that its not OK to try to systematically erase the civil rights of anyone, so when asked to come, I did. I came with an openness to learn, and the next 17 hours will provide me with a master class.

At 10am, it becomes apparent that there are a LOT of invited witnesses and this is not going to be a remotely expedient process. We aren’t allowed in the hearing room, but rather packed into multiple overflow rooms, complete with big screens and a staffer to ensure order.

At 11:45am, a press conference is held in the inverse rotunda, which is a welcome break from the testimony in which bible verses and rape statistics (having nothing to do with bathrooms) are blithely shared like sticks of gum.

At 2pm-ish– its all starting to blend together now, I get the opportunity to hear expert scientific testimony from doctors and therapists and learn so much about the basic neurobiological, hormonal, and other factors involved in being non-binary or transgender. They are patient and clear, answering all of the senators many questions, even those that are clearly unkind.

At 4pm– we finally start public testimony. I am in group 14. The evening passes in a haze of pizza (much thanks to whomever provided it), some kind of sandwich, a lot of water, and hour after hour of men and women sharing their truth, their pain, their strength. They are joined by businessmen and women from all over the state also opposing the bill based on very real revenue loss projections.

At 12am– I give my testimony. 2 minutes race by as I rush not to stumble over my words, intimidated by the situation. I rehearsed in front of the mirror multiple times during the day, but somehow the gravitas of this room is palpable. We are seated at a long table 4 at a time, with mics in front of each seat we are reminded to speak into. Some of the senators are taking breaks, some are talking amongst themselves or looking at their phones, but some look at me as I share my heart with them.

Three wonderful transgender women share the table with me and immediately after our testimony ensure that no one is walking alone, so that we can all stay together to get to our cars safely. They have learned to be careful, because over 46% of them have been physically assaulted, and a lady has to be ever careful and on her guard.

At 5am when testimony was concluded, the committee voted it through to the senate floor 7-1 without so much as an amendment. At at one level that breaks my heart. But I am reminded that all of those senators listened to 271 people share their truth. Transgender people are no longer a faceless unknown to them. And the common misconception of a “man in a dress” was at least at an intellectual level dispelled with truth and scientific evidence. The truth may not have changed the vote, but it changed me.

So, what did I learn? Was it worth it? Am I glad I went? Would I do it again? Did it make any difference at all? Tough questions, honestly.

I learned how much I don’t know. I learned the stories of 271 amazing, wonderful, unique, strong, truthful people. I learned new science and terms. I learned that there are a lot of people who vehemently hate those they don’t understand. I learned that legislators can act interested in compromise, but be revealed to have had their vote influenced outside of the hearing room.

What’s happening with SB6 now?

Editor’s note: SB passed the full Texas Senate on March 15 and was sent to the House. Republican House Speaker Joe Straus of San Antonio has called SB6 “a tremendous mistake” that would harm businesses across the state. According to the Texas Tribune, there’s speculation that the House may not vote on SB6 at all. Still, the Tribune reports that anti-trans lawmakers in the House may try to push through parts of SB6 by tacking them onto other bills as amendments.

Spread the word:

TX-31 constituents report difficulties in meeting with Carter’s local staff to discuss their concerns.

On March 10, members of Wilco Indivisible and another TX-31 constituent with a baby visited the Round Rock office of their US Representative, Congressman John Carter, to discuss legislative concerns with his staff. Here, lightly edited for length, emphasis (in bold type), and clarity, are letters from some of them describing their experience.

“Dissent does not equal disrespect”

Dr. Christine Mann writes,

Why does Representative John Carter and his staff continue to avoid meeting with his constituents?

Recently, I organized a group of about 40 friends and acquaintances with the purpose of breaking into small groups and visiting the office of our Congressional representative John Carter to discuss topics of interest. The idea was to have a dialogue with them through a series of meetings on specific topics.

We had a successful first meeting in February on the ACA. A group of 14 women met with senior staff for about an hour. The meeting was emotional yet respectful.

Subsequent to that meeting, I requested a second meeting with another set of group members to discuss a new topic. I was notified by email that the office would not be setting up further meetings with my “group” as they knew our concerns and did not need to hear any more. A request for clarification went unanswered.

As the office has an open door policy, I took a separate group for an unscheduled visit to discuss gun laws. We were greeted by an intern who graciously listened to our concerns, as the rest of the staff was out to lunch. All involved calmly related their concerns on this subject, and the intern took notes to pass on.

When the senior staff arrived, one staffer abruptly decided to end the meeting and told us to leave. She stated that groups like this would need to make an appointment.

I asked to make an appointment and was told that I would not be allowed to do so. When I asked why, she stated that I had been “disrespectful” to Representative Carter on social media. She would not provide an example of this.

Access to our government representatives is vital to our democracy. It is the right of every citizen to criticize their government. Dissent does not equal disrespect.

What type of message is Representative Carter sending to his constituents when his staff asserts that he does not want to hear what we have to say? Isn’t that exactly what he is supposed to do as our Representative in Congress?

“This is not what democracy looks like”

Kristin Blanchard writes:

Some of us have been to his office once before as part of a group appointment to talk about the specific topic of healthcare. That meeting was a very respectful and non-confrontational; however, a staffer subsequently banned our group leader, Christine Mann, from making appointments to discuss other topics with different groups of constituents, claiming that Carter’s office staff has met with our group “multiple times.”

Since we have other issues we want Rep. Carter to hear about, we decided to just go to the office today with Dr. Mann in a small group of 4 women and a baby. Our topic was gun control. We arrived at the office a little after 1 p.m. and were buzzed in by an intern. He was very polite and proceeded to take notes and ask questions as we each briefly talked about our concerns.

After about 20 minutes, another staffer came in from lunch and initially seemed to take our visit in stride. Dr. Mann was the last of us to speak, and when she was just about finished, that staffer came over and said we would have to leave. When we asked why, she asked if we had seen Dr. Mann’s social media pages—as though that were a terrible thing. Well, yes, we have. All of us have social media, and most of us belong to multiple groups including Indivisible, MoveOn.org, ACLU, SPLC, political parties, etc, etc, etc. I’m pretty sure we’re allowed to belong to these groups and also express our opinions as individuals.

I was completely blown away by her approach to us in what had been a very civil and respectful discussion with the intern, who has great instincts for how to work with constituents.

As I said to her, we can disagree. What can’t happen is our being prevented from voicing our opinions to our elected representatives in a Catch-22 of you have to make an appointment, but if we don’t like your opinion, you can’t have an appointment. After she picked up the phone to request assistance in getting us to leave (as though we were conducting a sit-in or being otherwise obstreperous) we realized what we were dealing with and left. This is not what democracy looks like.

“I am so disappointed”

Another constituent, who requested to remain anonymous, documented her experience of the meeting in an open letter to Rep. Carter:

Dear Judge Carter,

I’m writing you an open letter because I am deeply troubled by my recent first-time visit to your Round Rock offices. I feel that you owe an apology not only to me, but to all of your constituents who want to communicate with you and are unable.

I have never been to your offices before. I haven’t bothered to keep up with politics or candidates since GWB’s second term. The recession was happening; I was trying to put myself through community college out of pocket because I was too terrified to take out loans (spoiler alert: didn’t work – paying for college up front sadly isn’t a reality for blue-collar folks like me) and keep my head far enough above water to pay rent, buy groceries, and take care of my mom who was having health troubles at the time.

I’m older now. I’m married to a great guy, I have a beautiful almost-11-month-old son whom I had with me when I visited your office. I’m able to work part-time and stay home to raise him during the week, which I know is a blessing, regardless of the amount of coupon-clipping, thrift-shopping, and corner-cutting I have to do to maintain that privilege.

This also means that I have time to reflect on the past 10 years of my life and how the national and local politics have affected my family and I. I’ve come to a point where I feel like it’s imperative that I be involved and civically engaged. I have time – now that I’m not working a 50 hour week and constantly scrambling to make ends meet – to pay attention to the political narrative. To vote. To call my senators. To visit my representative — or so I thought.

I am so disappointed.

I visited your office with a small group of women whom I did not personally know and had not previously met. I heard about their intention to visit through a resource group. It was a terrific opportunity to me because I suffer from moderate social anxiety, which makes public engagement and meetings difficult. Going with a group of people was a perfect buffer and provided a chance for me to personally express my views without risking a public anxiety attack and embarrassment.

When we first arrived we were greeted by a very polite intern that was very courteous and receptive to our concerns. We had a pleasant conversation with him for the first few minutes of being in the office. However, while we were in the midst of wrapping up our visit and clarifying our points and concerns, a group of regular staffers returned to the office from their lunch break.

One staffer interrupted our conversation with the intern (please tell him thank you from me, he was extremely helpful and courteous) and told one of the women I was with, without explanation, that we would all have to leave immediately. Furthermore, the staffer told this woman that because they’d already met with her once she would not be permitted to make any more appointments.

When I tried to ask this staff member why I had to leave as I had never been to the office before, the staffer ignored me point blank.

This is NOT okay.

What’s more, the staffer walked away from the desk and could be seen and overheard on the phone saying they were about to call Round Rock PD on us.

As a father and a grandfather yourself I expect you to understand how aghast I was at being threatened with police force when I had a small child with me, at a place where I went mistakenly assuming I would feel safe and welcomed.

At no point in time were any voices raised. At no point in time was there any modicum of hostility from our group. And yet this person refused to acknowledge or talk to those of us who had never been to the office before, even to answer the most basic question of whether we could make an appointment to come back.

Another staffer appeared shortly thereafter who did at least make eye contact and try to explain to me that they couldn’t meet with our group any longer due to “conflicting appointments” — although she could not explain to me why we couldn’t continue to talk to the intern. And again, when I asked to schedule a meeting I was told I needed to call and go through the “official channels.” I do not understand this. Does your staff not have access to their calendars at their work stations? What is the purpose of disallowing people to make appointments in person?

I feel completely alienated. The entire reason that I opted to visit your office is so that I could be seen and heard as an individual — a real person with a real family and real concerns. Sending an email, online chatting, and phone calls are not a replacement for talking to somebody face to face.

How can I support you when you and your staff will not acknowledge, see, or talk to me as an individual? How can you purport to represent me and my concerns after an experience like this?

The US was founded on patriotic dissent and the freedom of citizens to have our say in the way our government works. To refuse to meet with constituents at all, to refuse to hear their concerns on more than one topic, or to deny them a voice based on the fact that their politics don’t align with the “winning side” is about as far as one can get from the founding ideals of our nation. Real patriots listen, even when they don’t agree.

Are you a TX-31 constituent who’s been able to meet with Rep. Carter or his staffers in Washington, Round Rock, or Temple? Drop us a line at Wilco.Indivisible@gmail.com and let us know how your visit went. If you’ve been denied the opportunity to visit or schedule an appointment, let us know about that, too.

Schedule conflicts

A trip to the border was apparently more important to you than meeting with your constituents during recess week. Had we known in advance that you would be with Speaker Ryan working towards that cursed wall, we could have set a different date. But your office does not share your schedule. So there’s no way we can plan to meet with you, even when you are supposed to be in your home district for a “Constituent Work Week.”

Safety concerns

Families gather to talk about the issues affecting TX-31, with or without Rep. John Carter

We had a good laugh about the irony of your office citing your safety concerns, as progressives tend to push for stricter gun control. But, erring on the side of caution, we had a team of Peace Monitors, complete with medical professionals in case of emergency. There were no emergencies. People of the TX 31st District brought their kids and dogs and had picnics. Kids played on the playground.

Your preference for teleconferences

You have said you believe that teleconferences reach more people. But there’s no opportunity for meaningful dialogue in a teleconference. You can pick questions in advance and avoid constituents who might confront you with opposing views. Please remember, Judge Carter: whether or not we voted for you, we know you are our legitimate representative. We have concerns, and we have a proper expectation of being heard. As Texans we are accustomed to looking a man in the eye.

A TX-31 constituent shares her concerns with the closest thing we could get to John Carter.

John Carter went to the border and all we got was a cardboard cutout

More than 30 constituents asked questions about pressing issues such as the ACA, Russia’s interference with the election, 45’s tax returns (which we ALL want to see!), climate change and environmental disasters, and education.

We want to know how you will help prevent families from being ripped apart as 45’s harsh immigration policies tear through Central Texas.

We want to know how to feel safe with gun violence on the rise.

We want to know how you will empower women to take control of their health.

Because you were not there, we invited community groups that filled us in on current legislation and actions we can take:

Your office told us afterwards that our event looked very much like a Democratic rally. We invited these organizations and elected officials not to indoctrinate the crowd, but because these organizations share the values and ideals this substantial and growing group of your constituents holds.

Said differently: we listen to local people and support the discussion they want to have. But we get it: you would like to control the terms of any town hall.

We were here. Where was John Carter?

So let’s make a deal: if you will agree to hold a public town hall, we won’t have to do this again during recess week. You pick the time, place, and and we’ll show up. We just want to talk to you, and we will keep asking.

His loss. We’re going to have fun, learn more about our local and state government, and enjoy the beautiful weather.

Get your Google Maps directions and bring a picnic dinner to Champion Park on Wednesday evening. The first Wilco Town Hall hosted by Wilco Indivisible starts at 5:30. The public is welcome — especially residents of US Representative John Carter’s district (TX-31) who want to ask questions and share their concerns.

Speakers for Wednesday’s Wilco Town Hall

Carpool if you can and arrive on time, because thanks to our tireless leader, Felicia Miyakawa, we have four five speakers joining us for this non-partisan, family friendly event. They are:

Felicia announced Wednesday morning (today) that Zenén Perez will join us to talk about immigrants’ rights in Texas. His group, the Texas Civil Rights Project, harnesses the power of attorneys and other professionals across Texas to “protect and expand voting rights, challenge the injustices in our broken criminal justice system, and advance racial and economic justice.”

Jimmy Flannigan, Austin City Council Member for District 6

Jimmy Flannigan also made history with his November win, becoming the first Wilco resident elected to the Austin City Council. Flannigan is a big believer in grassroots networking and activism. Since his election he’s held several “What’s Next” meetings with Austin District 6 residents and other local groups to get more people involved in local politics.

Elva Mendoza, Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America

Moms Demand Action is a non-partisan national group that pushes for common-sense gun safety laws while supporting the Second Amendment. Elva Mendoza is the State Legislative Lead Volunteer for the Texas chapter of the group and she’ll be joining us to share her experiences.

Sharmeen Aly, NARAL Pro-Choice Texas

NARAL is a national reproductive-rights organization that supports freedom of choice and personal privacy for women. Here in Texas, the group has its work cut out for it, fighting attempts to defund Planned Parenthood and a steady stream of restrictive bills in the Legislature. Aly is the statewide communications coordinator for NARAL Pro-Choice Texas.

Who won’t be at the Wilco Town Hall meeting?

Congressman John Carter is the invited guest of honor, but his staff told the media he won’t be there. Bring your questions and concerns for him anyway, and we’ll record them to share. You can find event details, including parking, park rules, event etiquette, and accessibility information on the Wilco Indivisible website.

Congressman John Carter (R, TX-31) doesn’t meet with his constituents in person much these days. He hasn’t held a public town hall since 2013, as far as we know. As of this writing he’s not planning to host any public events during the current recess, due to what his staff describes as safety concerns.

A meeting with John Carter’s staff

Wilco Indivisible member Jennifer Mattingly and others who’d hoped to meet with Carter were able to schedule a meeting with members of his staff last week. Jennifer — a former Williamson County Justice of the Peace — summarized the meeting:

I was in a meeting along with about 12 women with Rep. Carter’s Round Rock office staff on February 16. We mainly discussed the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and its possible replacement.

I talked about how we need the federal government involved in healthcare, because it was only through those mandates that uniform coverage for things like preventive medical procedures and birth control became available to many millions of people who weren’t covered and/or were unable to get coverage before the ACA.

We all were concerned about the coverage of pre-existing conditions and many other aspects of our healthcare coverage, which we’re worried about losing. It was possibly a productive meeting, as the staff did listen to us and promised to relay our concerns to Carter. Whether he will do anything about it is another matter, in my opinion.

However, the GOP plan currently under consideration looks like it would make coverage less accessible and affordable to poor and working class families while benefiting the wealthy. That is the opposite of the position Carter took in his brief blog post, so we’d like to know if he supports the GOP white paper or if he’s still interested in pursuing a more accessible, lower cost healthcare insurance alternative like the one he described in his post.